


Breathe

by shsl_saltine



Series: Adrinette April 2k16 [3]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst, F/M, Not much resolve here, Unhappy Ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-28
Updated: 2016-05-28
Packaged: 2018-07-10 16:48:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6996421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shsl_saltine/pseuds/shsl_saltine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Inhale, exhale, inhale again. Don't forget to breathe.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Breathe

**Author's Note:**

> more angst? i wanted to work on my writing style and what better way than with angst. but if you guys want a second chapter, let me know and i might be able to pull one together. please comment and leave your reaction/opinion/thoughts.

It’s not because she’s doesn’t love him. She could never stop loving him. He was her other half, she’d believed it in her soul. But when he looked past her, at the glow of what she could be, it became glaringly obvious that she wasn’t. She’d tried to be, and she’d worn through every last bit of energy doing  so. It left her broken. It left one last option. Goodbye.

 

She couldn’t move herself across the room to speak to him. Her brain couldn’t form the words she would need to use to make it through this process.  _ Focus on your breathing. _ Inhale. Hold. Exhale. Wait. Inhale. Hold. Exhale. Wait. Inhale hold exhale wait inhale hold exhale wait  _ inhale hold exhale wait and wait and wait. _ Oh. She’d forgotten to breathe. And he was sitting there across the room, he just buzzed with happiness. And she couldn’t breathe. Did he even know what was wrong? Would he ever fully understand just what he was doing her? Did he have any idea that in the ways he’d driven her crazy, he’d just drove her off the edge?

 

Of course not. Because to her, he was perfect. It wasn’t his fault he couldn’t love her the way she was. It was just her responsibility to realize it for him.

 

She started to walk across the room, and it took every muscle in her body to move her legs across the room. It wasn’t a big room but it felt like hours to finish a stride. Right foot. Left foot. Inhale. Exhale. She had it down to a science, a repetitive pattern and as long as she could remember to  _ breathe _ she could do this.

 

And she was standing behind him. And he turned to look at her, his green eyes narrowing when he got a close look at her expression. Of all curses, Marinette’s had to include wearing her heart on her sleeve. She wondered if that was something he idolized about Ladybug, or if Ladybug’s emotions were hidden by her spotted mask like the rest of Marinette’s flaws.

 

“Mari, what’s wrong?” He asked and stood, though not to his full height. God he was a head taller than her, and she cursed how it still made her heart pound against her chest. His hands cupped her cheeks, but she flinched back and tears filled her bluebell eyes. Of all times Marinette, not now!

 

“I’m breaking up with you.”

 

And his hands fell away, his eyes widened, in fact his entire demeanor changed. She cursed herself for doing this to him, but it had to be done. No one would be happy if he continued to idolize her.

 

“W-- … What do you mean?” His voice cracked and so did Marinette’s heart.

 

Nothing, I didn’t mean anything.

 

“I’m breaking up with you--”  _ I still love you so much, you’re my better half. _ “--because you don’t love me anymore--”  _ Please take that look off your face, I hate that look. _ “--you probably never did.”

 

There are tears in his green eyes. She wants to scream April fools and run away to just pretend that everything is still okay but it isn’t, it never was and she knows that don’t you think she knows that?!

 

“Marinette--”  _ God don’t say my name like that. _ “--what’s going on here? Where is this coming from?”

 

And tears are falling onto her cheeks. They threaten to spill onto Adrien’s as well. She can’t look at his face anymore, she’ll take to counting floorboards instead.

 

“You love Ladybug.” One board, two boards, three-- “You look at me and you see Ladybug, not Marinette.” --boards, four boards-- “And I know that you think we are the same but we aren’t, I can’t always be Ladybug because I’m just Marinette.” --five boards, six boards-- “And I’m flawed. I’m so utterly flawed and I’m okay with that but you aren’t and you look at me and you see Ladybug, not me.” --and seven boards and inhale and exhale and inhale and exhale-- “I want to be Ladybug so badly for you but I can’t because we both end up hurting.”--inhale and exhale and look at those teardrops that are hitting the third floor board. “And I’m sorry, I’m so sorry I never said anything sooner but I know you can’t love me like you love Ladybug. And I can’t accept to be second best to my runaway persona.”

 

Adrien is speechless. She doesn’t have to look up at him to feel his green eyes burning her with unanswered questions. He won’t ask them. She won’t wait to hear them.

 

“I’m going to go stay with Alya for tonight. I think it’s best for you to process what I just told you before you try to convince me to stay.” Breathe, breathe, breathe. Inhale, exhale, inhale again. “I’m sorry.” Breathe. “I love you.” Breathe. And exit.

  
She left him standing in shock. He didn’t ask her to stop. Maybe he’d been too shocked, but she tells herself it’s because he’s noticed too. Step out the door. And it feels like she’s forgotten to breathe.


End file.
